PSE-Strata-Pro-24 Practice Exam Questions with Answers Palo Alto Networks Systems Engineer Professional - Hardware Firewall Certification

The customer’s question focuses on how Palo Alto Networks Strata Hardware Firewalls maintain throughput performance as more Cloud-Delivered Security Services (CDSS) subscriptions—such as Threat Prevention, URL Filtering, WildFire, DNS Security, and others—are enabled. Unlike traditional firewalls where enabling additional security features often degrades performance, Palo Alto Networks leverages its unique architecture to minimize this impact. The systems engineer (SE) should explain two key concepts—Parallel Processing and Single Pass Architecture—which are foundational to the firewall’s ability to sustain throughput. Below is a detailed explanation, verified against Palo Alto Networks documentation.

Step 1: Understanding Cloud-Delivered Security Services (CDSS) and Performance Concerns

CDSS subscriptions enhance the Strata Hardware Firewall’s capabilities by integrating cloud-based threat intelligence and advanced security features into PAN-OS. Examples include:

Threat Prevention: Blocks exploits, malware, and command-and-control traffic.

WildFire: Analyzes unknown files in the cloud for malware detection.

URL Filtering: Categorizes and controls web traffic.

Traditionally, enabling such services on other firewalls increases processing overhead, as each feature requires separate packet scans or additional hardware resources, leading to latency and throughput loss. Palo Alto Networks claims consistent performance due to its innovative design, rooted in the Single Pass Parallel Processing (SP3) architecture.

After a customer has concluded an evaluation of Palo Alto Networks solutions, it is critical to provide a detailed analysis of the results and benefits gained during the evaluation. The following two tools are most appropriate:

Why "Best Practice Assessment (BPA)" (Correct Answer A)?The BPA evaluates the customer's firewall configuration against Palo Alto Networks' recommended best practices. It highlights areas where the configuration could be improved to strengthen security posture. This is an excellent tool to showcase how adopting Palo Alto Networks' best practices aligns with industry standards and improves security performance.

Why "Security Lifecycle Review (SLR)" (Correct Answer B)?The SLR provides insights into the customer's security environment based on data collected during the evaluation. It identifies vulnerabilities, risks, and malicious activities observed in the network and demonstrates how Palo Alto Networks' solutions can address these issues. SLR reports use clear visuals and metrics, making it easier to showcase the benefits of the evaluation.

Why not "Firewall Sizing Guide" (Option C)?The Firewall Sizing Guide is a pre-sales tool used to recommend the appropriate firewall model based on the customer's network size, performance requirements, and other criteria. It is not relevant for showcasing the benefits of an evaluation.

Why not "Golden Images" (Option D)?Golden Images refer to pre-configured templates for deploying firewalls in specific use cases. While useful for operational efficiency, they are not tools for demonstrating the outcomes or benefits of a customer evaluation.

The appropriate CDSS subscription to inspect and mitigate suspicious DNS traffic is Advanced DNS Security. Here’s why:

Advanced DNS Security protects against DNS-based threats, including domain generation algorithms (DGA), DNS tunneling (often used for data exfiltration), and malicious domains used in attacks. It leverages machine learning to detect and block DNS traffic associated with command-and-control servers or other malicious activities. In this case, unusually high DNS traffic to an unfamiliar IP address is likely indicative of a DNS-based attack or malware activity, making this the most suitable service.

Option A: Advanced Threat Prevention (ATP) focuses on identifying and blocking sophisticated threats in network traffic, such as exploits and evasive malware. While it complements DNS Security, it does not specialize in analyzing DNS-specific traffic patterns.

Option B: Advanced WildFire focuses on detecting and preventing file-based threats, such as malware delivered via email attachments or web downloads. It does not provide specific protection for DNS-related anomalies.

Option C: Advanced URL Filtering is designed to prevent access to malicious or inappropriate websites based on their URLs. While DNS may be indirectly involved in resolving malicious websites, this service does not directly inspect DNS traffic patterns for threats.

Option D (Correct): Advanced DNS Security specifically addresses DNS-based threats. By enabling this service, the customer can detect and block DNS queries to malicious domains and investigate anomalous DNS behavior like the high traffic observed in this scenario.

How to Enable Advanced DNS Security:

Ensure the firewall has a valid Advanced DNS Security license.

Navigate to Objects > Security Profiles > Anti-Spyware.

Enable DNS Security under the "DNS Signatures" section.

Apply the Anti-Spyware profile to the relevant Security Policy to enforce DNS Security.

North-south traffic refers to the flow of data in and out of a network, typically between internal resources and the internet. To secure this type of traffic, Palo Alto Networks recommends specific CDSS subscriptions in addition to DNS Security:

A. SaaS Security

SaaS Security is designed for monitoring and securing SaaS application usage but is not essential for handling typical north-south traffic.

B. Advanced WildFire

Advanced WildFire provides cloud-based malware analysis and sandboxing to detect and block zero-day threats. It is a critical component for securing north-south traffic against advanced malware.

C. Enterprise DLP

Enterprise DLP focuses on data loss prevention, primarily for protecting sensitive data. While important, it is not a minimum recommendation for securing north-south traffic.

D. Advanced Threat Prevention

Advanced Threat Prevention (ATP) replaces traditional IPS and provides inline detection and prevention of evasive threats in north-south traffic. It is a crucial recommendation for protecting against sophisticated threats.

E. Advanced URL Filtering

Advanced URL Filtering prevents access to malicious or harmful URLs. It complements DNS Security to provide comprehensive web protection for north-south traffic.

Key Takeaways:

Advanced WildFire, Advanced Threat Prevention, and Advanced URL Filtering are minimum recommendations for NGFWs handling north-south traffic, alongside DNS Security.

SaaS Security and Enterprise DLP, while valuable, are not minimum requirements for this use case.

A large deployment of 500 firewalls requires a scalable, centralized logging and reporting infrastructure. Here's the analysis of each option:

Option A: Combine Panorama for firewall management with Palo Alto Networks' cloud-based Strata Logging Service to offer scalability for the company's logging and reporting infrastructure

The Strata Logging Service (or Cortex Data Lake) is a cloud-based solution that offers massive scalability for logging and reporting. Combined with Panorama, it allows for centralized log collection, analysis, and policy management without the need for extensive on-premises infrastructure.

This approach is ideal for large-scale environments like the one described in the scenario, as it ensures cost-effectiveness and scalability.

This is the correct recommendation.

Option B: Use Panorama for firewall management and to transfer logs from the 500 firewalls directly to a third-party SIEM for centralized logging and reporting

While third-party SIEM solutions can be integrated with Palo Alto Networks NGFWs, directly transferring logs from 500 firewalls to a SIEM can lead to bottlenecks and scalability issues. Furthermore, relying on third-party solutions may not provide the same level of native integration as the Strata Logging Service.

This is not the ideal recommendation.

Option C: Highlight the efficiency of PAN-OS, which employs AI to automatically extract critical logs and generate daily executive reports, and confirm that the purchase of 500 NGFWs is sufficient

While PAN-OS provides AI-driven insights and reporting, this option does not address the requirement for centralized logging and reporting. It also dismisses the need for additional infrastructure to handle logs from 500 firewalls.

This is incorrect.

Option D: Deploy a pair of M-1000 log collectors in the customer data center, and route logs from all 500 firewalls to the log collectors for centralized logging and reporting

The M-1000 appliance is an on-premises log collector, but it has limitations in terms of scalability and storage capacity when compared to cloud-based options like the Strata Logging Service. Deploying only two M-1000 log collectors for 500 firewalls would result in potential performance and storage challenges.

This is not the best recommendation.

To demonstrate compliance with Zero Trust principles, a systems engineer can leverage the rich reporting and logging capabilities of Palo Alto Networks firewalls. The focus should be on creating reports that align with the customer's Zero Trust strategy, providing detailed insights into policy enforcement, user activity, and application usage.

Option A: Scheduling a pre-built PDF report does not offer the flexibility to align the report with the customer’s specific Zero Trust plan. While useful for automated reporting, this option is too generic for demonstrating Zero Trust compliance.

Option B (Correct): Custom reports in the "Monitor > Manage Custom Reports" tab allow the customer to build tailored reports that align with their Zero Trust plan. These reports can include granular details such as application usage, user activity, policy enforcement logs, and segmentation compliance. This approach ensures the customer can present evidence directly related to their Zero Trust implementation.

Option C: Using a third-party tool is unnecessary as Palo Alto Networks NGFWs already have built-in capabilities to log, report, and demonstrate policy enforcement. This option adds complexity and may not fully leverage the native capabilities of the NGFW.

Option D: The Application Command Center (ACC) is useful for visualizing traffic and historical data but is not a reporting tool. While it can complement custom reports, it is not a substitute for generating Zero Trust-specific compliance reports.

5G Security (Answer A):

In this scenario, the mining company operates on a private mobile network, likely powered by 5G technology to ensure low latency and high bandwidth for controlling robots and vehicles.

Palo Alto Networks 5G Security is specifically designed to protect private mobile networks. It prevents exploitation of vulnerabilities in the 5G infrastructure and ensures the control signals sent to the machines are not compromised by attackers.

Key features include network slicing protection, signaling plane security, and secure user plane communications.

IoT Security (Answer C):

The mining operation depends on machines and remote-controlled vehicles, which are IoT devices.

Palo Alto Networks IoT Security provides:

Full device visibility to detect all IoT devices (such as robots, remote vehicles, or sensors).

Behavioral analysis to create risk profiles and identify anomalies in the machines' operations.

This ensures a secure environment for IoT devices, reducing the risk of a device being exploited.

Why Not Cloud NGFW (Answer B):

While Cloud NGFW is critical for protecting cloud-based applications, the specific concern here is protecting control signals and IoT devices rather than external access into the cloud service.

The private mobile network and IoT device protection requirements make 5G Security and IoT Security more relevant.

Why Not Advanced CDSS Bundle (Answer D):

The Advanced CDSS bundle (Advanced Threat Prevention, Advanced WildFire, Advanced URL Filtering) is essential for securing web traffic and detecting threats, but it does not address the specific challenges of securing private mobile networks and IoT devices.

While these services can supplement the design, they are not the primary focus in this use case.

References from Palo Alto Networks Documentation:

5G Security for Private Mobile Networks

IoT Security Solution Brief

Cloud NGFW Overview

A. Discuss the PAN-OS Policy Optimizer feature as a means to safely migrate port-based rules to application-based rules.

PAN-OS includes the Policy Optimizer tool, which helps migrate legacy port-based rules to application-based policies incrementally and safely. This tool identifies unused, redundant, or overly permissive rules and suggests optimized policies based on actual traffic patterns.

Why Other Options Are Incorrect

B: The migration wizard does not automatically convert port-based rules to application-based rules. Migration must be carefully planned and executed using tools like the Policy Optimizer.

C: Running two firewalls in parallel adds unnecessary complexity and is not a best practice for migration.

D: While port-based rules are supported, relying on them defeats the purpose of transitioning to application-based security.

The question asks for three use cases specific to Policy Optimizer, a feature in PAN-OS designed to enhance security policy management on Palo Alto Networks Strata Hardware Firewalls. Policy Optimizer helps administrators refine firewall rules by leveraging App-ID technology, transitioning from legacy port-based policies to application-based policies, and optimizing rule efficiency. Below is a detailed explanation of why options A, C, and E are the correct use cases, verified against official Palo Alto Networks documentation.

Step 1: Understanding Policy Optimizer in PAN-OS

Policy Optimizer is a tool introduced in PAN-OS 9.0 and enhanced in subsequent versions (e.g., 11.1), accessible under Policies > Policy Optimizer in the web interface. It analyzes traffic logs to:

Identify applications traversing the network.

Suggest refinements to security rules (e.g., replacing ports with App-IDs).

Provide insights into rule usage and optimization opportunities.

Its primary goal is to align policies with Palo Alto Networks’ application-centric approach, improving security and manageability on Strata NGFWs.

Synchronizing a large Active Directory (AD) with over 20,000 groups can introduce significant overhead if all groups are synchronized, especially when only a subset of groups (e.g., 1,000 groups) are required for Security policies. The most efficient approach is to configure a group mapping profile with an include group list to minimize unnecessary synchronization and reduce administrative overhead.

Why "Configure a group mapping profile with an include group list" (Correct Answer C)?Using a group mapping profile with an include group list ensures that only the required 1,000 groups are synchronized with the firewall. This approach:

Reduces the load on the firewall's User-ID process by limiting the number of synchronized groups.

Simplifies management by focusing on the specific groups relevant to Security policies.

Avoids synchronizing the entire directory (20,000 groups), which would be inefficient and resource-intensive.

Why not "Configure a group mapping profile, without a filter, to synchronize all groups" (Option B)?Synchronizing all 20,000 groups would unnecessarily increase administrative and resource overhead. This approach contradicts the requirement to reduce administrative burden.

Why not "Configure a group mapping profile with custom filters for LDAP attributes that are mapped to the user roles" (Option A)?While filtering LDAP attributes can be useful, this approach is more complex to implement and manage compared to an include group list. It does not directly address the problem of limiting synchronization to a specific subset of groups.

Why not "Configure NGFWs to synchronize with the AD after deploying the Cloud Identity Engine (CIE) and agents" (Option D)?While the Cloud Identity Engine (CIE) is a modern solution for user and group mapping, it is unnecessary in this scenario. A traditional group mapping profile with an include list is sufficient and simpler to implement. CIE is typically used for complex hybrid or cloud environments.

Zero-day malware attacks are sophisticated threats that exploit previously unknown vulnerabilities or malware signatures. To provide protection against such attacks, the appropriate Cloud-Delivered Security Service subscription must be included.

Why "Advanced WildFire" (Correct Answer C)?Advanced WildFire is Palo Alto Networks’ sandboxing solution that identifies and prevents zero-day malware. It uses machine learning, dynamic analysis, and static analysis to detect unknown malware in real time.

Files and executables are analyzed in the cloud-based sandbox, and protections are shared globally within minutes.

Advanced WildFire specifically addresses zero-day threats by dynamically analyzing suspicious files and generating new signatures.

Why not "AI Access Security" (Option A)?AI Access Security is designed to secure SaaS applications by monitoring and enforcing data protection and compliance. While useful for SaaS security, it does not focus on detecting or preventing zero-day malware.

Why not "Advanced Threat Prevention" (Option B)?Advanced Threat Prevention (ATP) focuses on detecting zero-day exploits (e.g., SQL injection, buffer overflows) using inline deep learning but is not specifically designed to analyze and prevent zero-day malware. ATP complements Advanced WildFire, but WildFire is the primary solution for malware detection.

Why not "App-ID" (Option D)?App-ID identifies and controls applications on the network. While it improves visibility and security posture, it does not address zero-day malware detection or prevention.

In this scenario, the company does not use on-premises Active Directory and manages devices with Entra ID and Jamf, which implies a cloud-native and modern management setup. Below is the evaluation of each option:

Option A: Captive portal

Captive portal is typically used in environments where identity mapping is needed for unmanaged devices or guest users. It provides a mechanism for users to authenticate themselves through a web interface.

However, in this case, the company is managing devices using Entra ID and Jamf, which means identity information can already be centralized through other means. Captive portal is not an ideal solution here.

This option is not appropriate.

Option B: User-ID agents configured for WMI client probing

WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) client probing is a mechanism used to map IP addresses to usernames in a Windows environment. This approach is specific to on-premises Active Directory deployments and requires direct communication with Windows endpoints.

Since the company does not have an on-premises AD and is using Entra ID and Jamf, this method is not applicable.

This option is not appropriate.

Option C: GlobalProtect with an internal gateway deployment

GlobalProtect is Palo Alto Networks' VPN solution, which allows for secure remote access. It also supports identity-based mapping when deployed with internal gateways.

In this case, GlobalProtect with an internal gateway can serve as a mechanism to provide user and device visibility based on the managed devices connecting through the gateway.

This option is appropriate.

Option D: Cloud Identity Engine synchronized with Entra ID

The Cloud Identity Engine provides a cloud-based approach to synchronize identity information from identity providers like Entra ID (formerly Azure AD).

In a cloud-native environment with Entra ID and Jamf, the Cloud Identity Engine is a natural fit as it integrates seamlessly to provide identity visibility for applications and data.

This option is appropriate.

Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) provide robust security features across a variety of use cases. Let’s analyze each option:

A. Code-embedded NGFWs provide enhanced IoT security by allowing PAN-OS code to be run on devices that do not support embedded VM images.

This statement is incorrect. NGFWs do not operate as "code-embedded" solutions for IoT devices. Instead, they protect IoT devices through advanced threat prevention, device identification, and segmentation capabilities.

B. Serverless NGFW code security provides public cloud security for code-only deployments that do not leverage VM instances or containerized services.

This is not a valid use case. Palo Alto NGFWs provide security for public cloud environments using VM-series firewalls, CN-series (containerized firewalls), and Prisma Cloud for securing serverless architectures. NGFWs do not operate in "code-only" environments.

C. IT/OT segmentation firewalls allow operational technology (OT) resources in plant networks to securely interface with IT resources in the corporate network.

This is a valid use case. Palo Alto NGFWs are widely used in industrial environments to provide IT/OT segmentation, ensuring that operational technology systems in plants or manufacturing facilities can securely communicate with IT networks while protecting against cross-segment threats. Features like App-ID, User-ID, and Threat Prevention are leveraged for this segmentation.

D. PAN-OS GlobalProtect gateways allow companies to run malware and exploit prevention modules on their endpoints without installing endpoint agents.

This is incorrect. GlobalProtect gateways provide secure remote access to corporate networks and extend the NGFW’s threat prevention capabilities to endpoints, but endpoint agents are required to enforce malware and exploit prevention modules.

Key Takeaways:

IT/OT segmentation with NGFWs is a real and critical use case in industries like manufacturing and utilities.

The other options describe features or scenarios that are not applicable or valid for NGFWs.